Stripe applicators



Dec. 26, 1961 v R. K SMEJ DA STRIPE APPLICATORS Filed May 22. 1959 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,014,454 STRIPE APPLICATORS Richard Kurt Smejda, 6 Brigachstrasse, Villingen, Germany Filed May 22, 1959, Scr. No. 815,151

8 Claims. (Cl. 118-412) The present invention relates to apparatus for applying paint, ink or paste in stripes on textile or paper webs or the like.

It is one object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which comprises separate feed chambers and compared with known apparatus of this type has the advantage that it can be quickly and simply adapted to varying jobs, above all to variations in the width of the stripes as well as to variations in materials, regarding the web of material to be treated and the viscosity of the liquids to be applied. As a result, the apparatus is equally suitable for liquid inks of low and high viscosity and for uncolored pastes of all kinds. This advantage is achieved according to the present invention in that the feed chambers are separated in the outlet range by replaceable, resiliently yieldably mounted fitting pieces and that the web to be treated travels over a roll which is resiliently yieldably urged against the outlet of the feed chambers. To enable an increase or decrease in the outflow rate of theliquid to be applied the feed chambers together with the roll are'pivotally mounted on thefrar'ne. As the chambers are tightly sealed at the top and bottom the liquid in the feed chambers is transferred to the web of material and sucked out of the feed chambers mainly by adhesion so that an action of static pressure is virtually not required. Such a striping apparatus is arranged before a transversely stretching, continuous drying apparatus and uses the pull of this drying apparatus as a power source.

With this and other objects in view which will become 7 apparent in the following detailed description the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic general view of the apparatus, without stand;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a feed chamber;

FIG. 3 shows the fitting pieces which separate the feed chambers, in a view taken in the direction of the arrow III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view of these fitting pieces taken in the direction of the arrow IV of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a single fitting piece.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be apparent that during the use of the apparatus the web of material B travels from a roll of material 1 over a transverse stretch- I ing device 2 to the pressure roll 3, which urges the material against the outlets 4 of the chambers 7 (FIGQZ), in which the various inks or the like to be applied are fed and which form together the feed hopper 5.

These outfiowing liquids to be applied flow towards the web to be treated. Wetting is effected by the resilient brush 3, which closes the chambers 7 at the outlet towards the top. The brush 8 has a rubber backing 8c which provides a gentle forward pressure against the roll 3. The withdrawal of ink is effected by adhesion in the outlet range 4 of the chambers 7 whereas the surplus liquid is wiped off by the resilient doctor 9 at the edge 4', where the web B leaves the range 4.

The doctor 9 is readily replaceably inserted in the guide 13. and is urged against the web by several set screws 14, which are distributed throughout the length of the doctor and act through the intermediary of compression springs 15 on the rear edge of the doctor 9.

The feeder 5 is separated into numerous chambers Patented Dec. 26, rest 7 by partitions 27 (FIG. 4). .The partitions 27 carry at their outlet ends replaceable fitting pieces 16, one of which is shown on an enlarged scale in FIG. 5. The fitting pieces 16 have at the rear a slot 26, whereby they are fitted to slide onto the partitions 27. The fitting pieces 16 can be displaced for a length 0 (FIG. 2) by sliding on the partitions 27. They have a concave cylindrical front surface 28, which conforms to the curvature of the roll 3. At the top the fitting pieces 16 have an enlarged head 29 (FIG. 5), which tapers upwardly in conical shape and terminates in a rounded portion. The head 29 gradually increases in thickness in the direction of flow of ink,,i.e., towards the roll 3. This head portion 29 has the purpose of connecting the partitions 27 of the feed chambers 7 to the brush 8 in such a way that a ready replacement of the fitting pieces 16 by fitting pieces. of different shape is enabled by pulling out and inserting one for the other. Whenever the fitting pieces 16 are inserted, their head portion 29 penetrates the brush 8 like a wedge and urge the bristles apart to effect not only a reliable seal but also to provide for a resilient yieldability of the fitting pieces in the outflow direction of the liquid to be applied. This yieldablty is due to the resistance of the bristles. The insertion of the head portion 29 is simplified by a slight upward tilting of the brush 8. For this purpose the tightening strip 8a is removed, thereby creating room for upward tiltinglor removal of the brush 8.

In order to vary the width ofthe stripes of ink it is sufficient to apply fitting pieces 16a which are curved or angled towards the right orleft in front, as is apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4.

All parts which take place in the application of liquid are readily replaceable, on the one hand for replacement .after wear and on the other hand to enable the necessary variation in the application of different liquids to different kinds of webs. For instance, in additon to the replacement of the fitting pieces 16, the brush 8 may also be replaced by a blunt, resiliently sealing closing strip and the doctors 9 may be replaced by doctors of different 7 material, different hardness and different edge thickness, when required. I

The roll 3 is swingably mounted on a carriage 6, which is carried by means of a dovetail guide on a nut 30, which is affixed to the carrying frame 19. The carriage 6 is adjusted by the screw bolt 10, which is manually rotatable by means of its wing head 10 and which applies pressure through the intermediary of a collar 32 and a spring 33 to the angled portion 11 of the carriage 6, which has a bore, in which the foremost end of the screw bolt 10 is slidably guided. In order to enable in the case of disturbances a quick release of the contact pressure of the roller 3 against the nozzle outlet, which contact pressure is adjusted by the screw bolt 16, an eccentric lever 12 is mounted on the frame 19 and can be shifted to lift the roll 3 from the nozzle when the lever 12 engages the part 11 and compresses the spring 33.

The carrying frame 19, which carries also the feeder 5 and the reservoir 18, has two trunnions 17 mounted in a stand, not shown. The entire apparatus .can be pivotally moved about the trunnions 17 by means of a pivot adjuster 17 in form of a gear sector which is operated by a crank 17 carrying a pinion 17 A stop lever 17 locks the pinion 17- in any selected position, the roll 3 moving downwardly if the rate of liquid is to be increased in order to adapt it to a faster movement of the material, or the roll 3 moving upwardly if the flowof the feeder 5 have identically spaced chambers comple menting each other. This reservoir 18 is equipped with a rod valve 23 operated by a lever 23, the bores of which valve 23 establishes a communication with the associated feed chambers 7 of the feeder 5. As soon as the reservoir 18 is empty, it is simply replaced by a full one. The spring clip 20 ensures a tight fit of the reservoir on the feeder 5.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only, and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for applying flowable material in stripes on webs of flexible material, which comprises means defining feed chambers having outlets adjacent to each other, detachably and resiliently yieldably mounted fitting pieces separating adjacent feed chambers at their outlets, a roll arranged to engage said web of material, and means resiliently yieldably urging said roll against said outets of said feed chambers. I

2. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means defining said feed chambers and said roll form a unit which is pivotally mounted to enable an increase and decrease, respectively, in the rate of flow of said flowable material out of said outlets.

3. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means defining said feed chambers comprise partitions separating adjacent feed chambers and wherein said fitting pieces are mounted on said partitions for a limited displacement in the direction of flow of said flowable material.

4. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said partitions are formed with grooves guiding said fitting pieces.

5. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said resiliently yieldable means comprises a brush which seals the feed chambers upwardly and wherein said fitting pieces have enlarged heads which increase in thickness in the direction of flow and are inserted like wedges in said brush, so that said heads are mounted in said brush to be resiliently yieldable in the direction of flow.

6. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least part of said fitting pieces deviate from a straight line and are detachably mounted on said means defining said feed chambers, whereby the width of said stripes in which said flowable material is applied can be varied by a replacement of said fitting pieces.

7. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said resiliently yieldable means comprises a carriage mounting said roll, manually adjustable spring means urging said carriage against the outlets of said feed chambers, and lifting means operable to effect a quick lifting of said roll from said outlets.

8. The apparatus,as set forth in claim 7, wherein said lifting means comprise an eccentric lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 896,504 Adams Aug. 18, 1908 2,439,802 Francis Apr. 20, 1948 2,494,378 Dexter Ian. 10 1950 2,862,471 Sidebotham et a1 Dec. 2, 1958 2,897,777 Schur Aug. 4, 1959 

